


Splash

by Severina



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Community: lands_of_magic, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-26
Updated: 2015-09-26
Packaged: 2018-04-23 10:52:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4874005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Severina/pseuds/Severina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Golds are looking for privacy. Getting a pool may put a crimp in that plan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Splash

**Author's Note:**

> Two stories written for the prompts "underwater" and "chalk" at LJ's lands_of_magic . Posting together because the second is rather a sequel to the first.
> 
> * * *

Belle held his hand firmly as he led her over the flagstones, her high heels clicking on the pavement and her other hand clasped over her eyes to reaffirm her determination not to peek. Rumplestiltskin waited until they were directly opposite the new installation in the yard before he released her and stepped back.

"Now," he said, "you may open your eyes."

She did so slowly, first lifting her hand and then blinking in the late afternoon sunlight. His shoulders tensed, and he only relaxed when her mouth dropped open and she impulsively clapped her hands together. "A swimming pool!"

"Indeed."

She turned to him, her initial surprise and delight melting a little when her eyes met his. "But Rumple," she began, "your magic…"

Rumplestiltskin gestured at the large in-ground pool that now took up much of the back garden. "A trifle," he said airily. She need never know how much it had taken out of him to muster enough of his magic to conjure, nor how weak he felt even now. "I know how much you enjoyed relaxing in the bathing pools back home."

When she relented and slanted another smile his way, it made all the effort worthwhile. "I didn't think you paid attention when I was talking about the hot springs of Avonlea," Belle said. 

"I listened avidly to every word you spoke, Belle," Rumplestiltskin protested.

"Hmm. I seem to recall a lot of 'idle chit chat does not put a polish on the silver, dearie'," she answered, voice squeaking as she fluttered her hands about her chest elaborately.

"That's a horrendous impression of me."

Belle giggled and dropped her hands. "Well, I do appreciate it. Soaking in the pool will be lovely on a hot summer's day. But why now?"

Rumplestiltskin lifted a shoulder. "We deserve it. A fence around the yard, a lock on the gate, an oasis for just the two of us. Nothing but the sound of the birds in the trees while we float in the water." And no one to interrupt them, he added mentally. No one barging in to insist that he help with the crisis du jour. No demands made on him that he felt compelled to answer for fear of seeing disappointment in Belle's eyes. Here, they could be alone. For once.

She smiled. "Then I suppose I should go change into my swimsuit."

"Or," Rumplestiltskin said, reaching out to snag her hand, "we could forgo swimsuits altogether…"

The sound of footsteps on the pavement alerted him to the presence of others before she could answer, and his response was instinctual. "Hide!" he hissed, one arm lashing out. He intended to whisk her away to the woods, but nothing worked quite the way it should since he'd recovered from his Apprentice-induced coma. The magic fizzled, Belle lost her footing, and he winced at the sound of the splash she made as she flew backwards into the pool.

She came up spluttering and soaked. Quite delectable, really, were it not for the fire in her eyes. No, perhaps even more so _because_ of the fire in her eyes. He found he rather looked forward to making up for this misstep to his lovely Belle, and would begin even now except…

Regina rested one hand on her hip, arched a brow as she shook her head at his soaking wife. "Really, Rumple?" 

"The lock was rather flimsy, mate," the pirate said, said lock dangling ineffectually from his hook.

Emma ignored Belle altogether. "Gold," she said grimly, "we need your help."

Rumplestiltskin closed his eyes. He really needed a better plan.

* * *

"Did you get it?"

Belle glanced dubiously into the jar crooked into her arm, then back to Rumple leaning heavily against the railing on the front porch. "I… think so?" she answered. "I can't see anything, but…" She shook the jar, the invisible object inside rattling against the clear sides as she did so.

"That's it," Rumple said. "Now you must only draw a line surrounding the house. It need not be thick, but it must be unbroken."

Belle frowned, but reached inside the jar to carefully remove the chalk. She didn't see why it had to be her to sneak – sneak! – into their own shop to retrieve Rumple's magical chalk, nor the need for all the subterfuge in the first place. Yes, Emma and David did barge in on them on occasion and Rumple's assistance was usually required whenever the latest nasty bit of business hit the town, but they were _supposed_ to help their community. Hiding away just seemed… wrong. 

But as she knelt near the side gate to make her first mark on the pavement, she glanced up at her husband. Though he tried to hide it he looked drawn and pale, the marks of his time spent immersed in an enchanted coma still showing in the new wrinkles on his face and the dark circles under his eyes. And relearning his magic without the dubious benefits of the Dark One's influence left him still weaker. He needed time to recover, time to heal, time to test the new limits of his magic without any added outside pressure.

"Belle?"

Belle shook her head to chase away the errant thoughts, found a bright smile for him. "Why don't you bring some lemonade out to the pool? I'll be done here as quickly as I can."

She bent to her task and was true to her word, taking her place beside him and stretching out on the lounge only ten minutes later. She'd felt his wards slide into place the moment she joined her last marking of chalk with the first, and now she imagined they were as safe as they could be from interruptions. She took up her lemonade and tried to be unobtrusive as she sipped and searched his face, anxious that the power it took to hold the barrier around the house would prove too taxing. But she could find no strain in his loose limbs, no tension hiding behind his eyes. In fact, she could almost see the stress draining from Rumple's face, the stiff set of his shoulders relaxing as each minute passed and no one dashed into the yard demanding his help.

Perhaps fetching the chalk had been a good idea after all. A quiet and relaxing day was just what they both needed.

Then there was a clatter from the side gate, the sound of a body crashing into a barrier that simply shouldn't exist. The 'oof' was muffled but still audible and Belle shifted in her lounge chair, but Rumplestiltskin held up a hand. "Whoever it is, they will realize they cannot best the barrier and go away."

Belle bit her lip. "But—"

"Whatever their problem is, they can solve it without my help if they'd just use a little ingenuity," Rumple said. "They did so when I was… indisposed. They can do so again."

She nodded, the memory of the weeks he spent infirm and insensible firming her resolve. Her husband needed to rest. If the people of the town couldn't see that, then—

"Grandpa Gold?" 

Belle twitched at the sound of the voice drifting from beyond the barrier. Henry's voice had only gotten deeper in the months since Rumple had awoken, and he sounded more like his father every day. She dared a glance at her husband, only to see that his chin had drifted toward his chest and his eyes had closed wearily.

"Um," Henry called out, "I guess you don't want people bugging you all the time. But we got the day off school and Mom said you have a pool now, and it's super hot and all, so I thought—"

People sitting on the patio at Granny's could probably hear the sigh that Rumple let out.

"You know what, never mind," Henry hollered. "I understand. You need time to yourself. I'll just… go."

Belle set her glass of lemonade carefully on the patio table, swiveled in her chair. "Rumple—" she began.

"Come in, Henry," Rumple called out, opening his eyes and lifting a hand airily. Belle felt a pressure in her ears release with a _pop_ as the barrier she'd painstakingly erected was removed, then a muted 'woot' of elation and the creak of the gate followed by the stomping of feet on the pavement. 

Multiple pairs of feet.

"I told you guys my Grandpa Gold was the _best_!" Henry crowed as he burst into the back yard followed by what Belle could only describe as a gaggle of teenagers. She recognized Jefferson's daughter Grace and a gangly boy named Milton who had checked out every sports-related book in her library, but the rest of the half dozen children were strangers to her. 

The clamour of excited voices rose in the still afternoon air, and Belle winced and half-turned toward her husband. Rumple's lips were set in a thin line, his back stiff and shoulders taut as he sat straighter in his chair. "Henry--" he began gruffly.

"Thank you for letting us use your pool today, Mr. Gold!" Grace called out.

The gratitude was chorused by several other happy voices. Henry's smile was as big and bright as she'd ever seen it, and Belle hid her own smile behind her hand as Rumple visibly deflated. His shoulders slumped as he sunk back into his lounge chair and lifted a hand wearily to acknowledge the eager teenagers.

"At least they're not after your help?" Belle offered.

"No," Rumple agreed as Henry cannonballed into the pool, his loud and enthusiastic 'whoop!" echoing through the air. "Just the last remnants of my sanity."


End file.
